Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) released three tools to assist growers and retailers in the progress towards the industry’s commitment to the phasing-out of the current practice of mulesing by 2010.
The three tools include an extensive blowfly strike prevention and management CD, a declaration form for the sale of non-mulesed wool and a swing tag available to the retailers, and have been produced as part of the settlement, reached in June of this year.
The training CD is a practical guide to assist woolgrowers to minimise the occurrence and extent of blowfly strike in their flocks and can be ordered from the AWI website.
“The key objective of the CD is to help growers better understand the factors that lead to blowfly strike and to assist in implementing management plans,” an AWI spokesperson said.
The program is divided into six clearly defined modules that allow woolgrowers to quickly and effectively access information that best suits their situation. Each module is accompanied by practical tools and case studies to demonstrate how other woolgrowers are managing the risk of blowfly strike.
Also aiding growers is the development of a new, simple form that allows sellers to declare that a particular sale lot of wool is entirely sourced from non-mulesed sheep.
This declaration form will be available from brokers and agents from the start of 2008.
AWI also released a swing tag for manufacturers and retailers who wish to inform their consumers that a particular product is made entirely from wool sourced from Australian non-mulesed Merino sheep.
The swing tag will be available from Woolisbest. The responsibility will be on the user of the tag to ensure that they are not misrepresenting products for sale by certifying that the wool is indeed from non-mulesed sheep.
The DVD, declaration form and swing tag were developed as part of the settlement between AWI and PETA.
